Land Bill

Please contact your congressional representatives and ask them to vote against S.22 recently passed out of the senate. It will if passed in its current form, limit gun rights in large land areas of the US. This bill will greatly expand land controlled by the Nation Park
Service, thereby expanding the agency's anti-gun regulations.

Unlike U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land,
which allow for state and local law to govern firearms possession, NPS
land is subject to a complete gun ban for any citizen who does not hold
a concealed carry permit.

The bill coming to the floor March 11 greatly expands NPS land, thus
spreading the agency's anti-gun regulations into more areas.

S. 22 is actually a compilation of over 190 bills, many of which were
never even debated on their own merits
For more info see

http://gunowners.org/031009.htm

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ebarber

March 11, 2009, 12:42 AM

email sent!

armedandsafe

March 11, 2009, 02:25 AM

Sent

Pops

peep

March 11, 2009, 10:44 PM

Victory In The House!
-- But the land bill battle will continue

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Thanks to you, a bill expanding gun control on federal land was narrowly defeated Wednesday morning, March 11.

The Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009, S. 22, would have drastically increased the amount of land controlled by the National Park Service, thus subjecting such land to the anti-gun regulations of the agency.

The bill was brought to the floor of the U.S. House on what is known as the "suspension calendar." This calendar is normally reserved for non-controversial bills. As such, any bill being passed under the suspension calendar requires a two-thirds majority of those voting.

In this case, the pro-gun position prevailed by a mere two votes -- meaning S. 22 is far from being non-controversial.

Although suspension bills are not normally amended, one change was allowed in a secret backroom deal between a few members.

The amendment, offered by Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA), was intended to alleviate the concerns of gun owners.

The Altmire amendment sought to protect hunting and recreational shooting on federal land, but those steps are completely inadequate to address the concerns of millions of gun owners.

The Second Amendment protects, as the Supreme Court affirmed in D.C. v. Heller, an individual right to keep and bear arms. That right was never intended to protect only the shooting sports.

Under current regulations, firearms possessed for the sole purpose of self-defense on land controlled by the National Park Service is prohibited unless the person holds a concealed carry permit.

While millions of law-biding Americans hold CCW permits, many more do not. It is these citizens' rights that are going unprotected.

NPS land covers the gamut from busy thoroughfares to remote wilderness areas. These gun free zones are dangerous, in addition to creating a patchwork of inconsistent regulations between federal and state land.

Although we won today, unfortunately the battle is not over.

The anti-gun leadership will attempt to bring this bill back to the floor in a way that requires a simple majority, rather than the two-thirds vote they needed Wednesday.

Several pro-gun congressmen will try to offer an amendment in committee to simply allow state and local law to govern firearms possession on NPS land. This type of amendment would put more control at the local level and protect the gun rights of all law-abiding Americans.

What is expected is that the leadership will propose a new "rule" that blocks any such pro-gun amendments.

If that happens, the vote on the rule becomes the gun vote.

House leaders have not indicated when they will attempt to bring the bill back to the floor, but it could come up at any time.

Therefore, your Representative needs to hear from you once again, for two reasons. First, the entire House needs to be urged to reject any parliamentary trick that excludes language to protect Second Amendment rights on federal land. Next, those who voted against your rights need to know of your dissatisfaction, while those who stood up for your rights should be thanked.

ACTION: Please use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center

http://gunowners.org/activism.htm
to send your Rep. a pre-written letter. Note: the LAC will automatically load the correct text for individual Representatives, based upon their vote Wednesday. Because the list has to be divided in this way, the pre-written letters are not editable by the sender.

----- Pre-written letter for those who voted pro-gun -----

Dear Representative:

Thank you for standing up for the Second Amendment by voting against S. 22, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009.

This bill would greatly expand land controlled by the National Park Service, and thus spread the agency's gun restrictions to even more areas. The NPS gun ban should be repealed, not expanded.

Although the pro-gun side won today, the battle is not over. The anti-gun leadership will try to bring the bill to the floor again, this time with a rule intended to exclude a pro-gun amendment to repeal the NPS anti-gun regulations.

If that is the case, I urge you to once again stand up for the Second Amendment and vote against the rule.

Sincerely,

----- Pre-written letter for those who voted anti-gun -----

Dear Representative,

I am extremely disappointed that you did not stand up for the Second Amendment on the issue of S. 22, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009.

This bill would greatly expand land controlled by the National Park Service, and thus spread the agency's gun restrictions to even more areas. The NPS gun ban should be repealed, not expanded.

Although the pro-gun side won today, the battle is not over. The anti-gun leadership will try to bring the bill to the floor again, this time with a rule intended to exclude a pro-gun amendment to repeal the NPS anti-gun regulations.

If that is the case, I urge you to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans and vote against the rule.

Sincerely,

sltintexas

March 11, 2009, 10:51 PM

the gun owners of america site is really good for alerts even if you aren't a paying member. It will look up your representatives based on your address and send the email or print the addresses letter to them. It don't get much easier than that!

peep

March 16, 2009, 02:09 PM

It’s Back, Omnibus Public Lands Act or S 22. Expected to come to the floor soon.

A whole lot of people in Congress are claiming to protect your Second Amendment rights, but all they're really doing is protecting your hunting season.

You helped to defeat this bill last week in the House, but Congressional leaders have vowed to bring it up again soon.

S. 22 is an enormous package of over 190 bills lumped together with a price tag of $10 billion. The bill will greatly expand the amount of land controlled by the National Park Service, thus spreading the agency's unconstitutional gun regulations to more areas.

Fear of upsetting gun owners -- who helped elect many members of Congress from both parties -- kept this bill off the floor for several weeks.

Then, in a meeting last Tuesday, not held in an open committee hearing but behind closed doors, House leaders brokered a deal.

They said they were concerned about your gun rights. They said they were going to "fix" the bill.

But they did not address the NPS anti-gun regulations that prohibit carrying a firearm for self-defense without a government issued concealed carry permit.

What did they do? They added language to the bill to say you can still go hunting. As in a bad horror movie, we shouldn’t have to repeatedly kill the stupid monster but please try.

Please tell your senators and house reps to vote against this bill unless it is fixed to respect the true meaning of the Second Amendment. Many of our representatives may not be aware that simply allowing hunters to have guns on federal land will not put things back as they were. Convey (in text or over the phone) that unless this is fixed or the bill is defeated, it will instantly criminalize very legitimate civilian activities. Nothing wrong with hunting but inopportune encounters with drug smugglers and other assorted criminals could be an even more compelling reason to carry than shooting game.

Again, GOA has more on it at
http://gunowners.org/a031609htm.htm

Read text of the bill at
http://thomas.loc.gov/
enter S 22 in the search window

hso

March 16, 2009, 02:39 PM

peep,

Forwarding GOA is fine, but you need to provide a link to this piece of legislation. Also some sort of plan of action is needed beyond "call your congresscritter".

peep

March 19, 2009, 12:28 PM

With the Omnibus Public Lands Act, adding an amendment to protect gun rights was mentioned in previous post. Another possibility (without delving into non-gun related issues) may be to stall it or stop it. Last week, 144 members of the House voted against the bill because it needs major revisions. More than 100 organizations ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the National Wildlife Refuge Association have expressed their opposition.

is fighting the bill and proposing amendments. I think this is in case it passes. The point is, open debate should be another opportunity to let them know what you want, making it easier to bring up a measure to protect gun rights above and beyond hunting.

In any case, if one or both of your senators are concerned about this huge bill, as they should be, tell them to push for an open debate. If they are allied more with Coburn’s political philosophy, a sample email could be:

Dear Senator -------,

Please help Senator Coburn bring the Omnibus Public Lands Act to a full and open debate and allow the amendment process. A short list of Coburn’s amendments is

Amendment 675: Prohibit the use of eminent domain for any provision authorized in the bill.
Amendment Require annual report detailing total size and cost of federal property.
Amendment 679: Strike all provisions restricting renewable energy development on public lands.
Amendment 680: Bar new construction (not including necessary replacement construction) until all current sites are certified by the Secretary as fully operational, ensuring full access by the public, and posing no health or safety threat. The National Park Service is currently facing a $10 billion maintenance backlog.
Amendment 682: Clarify Section Subtitle D to protect park visitors and scientists from criminal penalties for taking stones that may contain insignificant fossils.
Amendment 683: Strike out frivolous waste in the bill (St. Augustine birthday party; botanical gardens in Hawaii and Florida; California salmon restoration; Alexander Hamilton’s boyhood estate in the Virgin Islands; and shipwreck exploration program).

This is a very large bill and affects a large part of the country. The amount of federally owned acreage in each western state is greater than 25-percent. In AK, OR, NV and UT it is over 50-percent.

We especially need an amendment that preserves the rights of gun owners if these lands are converted to National Park Service lands. The current language only preserves hunting and concealed weapon privileges. I, along with a lot of other people will be very unhappy if suddenly, BLM or similar land areas are put under current NPS regulations that do not allow ordinary civilians to keep and bear arms. Current gun laws of states should be followed when federal land is inside their borders. Thank you.

If your Senator is of the other party and perhaps more concerned about environmental issues, a sample email might be:

Dear Senator ------,

Being an outdoors enthusiast and environmentalist, I’m very concerned about parts of the Omnibus Public Lands Act. Camping and hiking won’t be worth the risk if I have to worry about something like Subtitle D of the bill called the “Paleontological Resources Preservation Act.”

The provisions in this subtitle make it illegal to “excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface or attempt to excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface any paleontological resources located on Federal land” without special permission from the government.

A “forfeiture” provision would let the government confiscate “all vehicles and equipment of any person” who disturbs a rock or a bone from federal land that meets the bill’s broad definition of “paleontological resource.” The seizures could take place even before, and even if the person didn’t know they were taking or digging up a “paleontological resource.” Moreover, the bill specifically allows the “transfer of seized resources” to “federal or non-federal” institutions.

This is a very large bill and affects a large part of the country. The amount of federally owned acreage in each western state is greater than 25-percent. In AK, OR, NV and UT it is over 50-percent.

We especially need an amendment that preserves the rights of gun owners if these lands are converted to National Park Service lands. The current language only preserves hunting and concealed weapon privileges. I, along with many other people will be very unhappy if suddenly, BLM or similar land areas are put under current NPS regulations that do not allow ordinary civilians to keep and bear arms. Current gun laws of states should be followed when federal land is inside their borders.

Please help bring the Omnibus Public Lands Act to a full and open debate. Thank you.

See http://thomas.loc.gov/ and enter S 22 inthe search window for text and more information.

peep

March 19, 2009, 05:56 PM

Well, it passed and from what I can find out so far, no protections for plain old RKBA were included. Phooey.
Thanks though to all who tried to help.

peep

March 24, 2009, 11:44 PM

With the recent court ruling against concealed carry in national parks, the particular problem with the Omnibus Lands Bill of no general RKBA may be even more of a problem.

The following text from the bill is I suppose their “protection” of gun rights but it looks to me like it only protects sporting activities.

Title II: Bureau of Land Management Authorizations - Subtitle A: National Landscape Conservation System - (Sec. 2002) Establishes in the BLM the National Landscape Conservation System

Prohibits anything in this subtitle from: (1) enhancing, diminishing, or modifying any law or proclamation under which the components of the NLCS specified above were established, or are managed, including, the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act, the Wilderness Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the National Trails System Act, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976; (2) affecting the authority, jurisdiction, or responsibility of the several states to manage, control, or regulate fish and resident wildlife under state law or regulations, including the regulation of, or access to, hunting, fishing, trapping, and recreational shooting on BLM-managed public land; and (3) limiting access to such activities.

For those who might not have received this GOA alert and are interested in this issue, here is their plan of action:

http://www.gunowners.org

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

An amendment to repeal the National Park Service (NPS) gun ban is headed to the floor of the U.S. House on Wednesday, March 25.

The massive public land bill, which has bounced between the House and Senate in recent weeks, has sidestepped the issue of your right to self-defense. Several pro-gun representatives tried to amend the bill so that it offers real protection of Second Amendment rights, but they were
prevented by the anti-gun leadership.

Repeal of the gun ban takes on added urgency after a federal appeals court issued an injunction last week to stop changes made by the Bush administration to allow concealed carry on NPS land from taking effect.

When the bill comes to the floor on Wednesday, pro-gun Representatives Doc Hastings (R-WA) and Rob Bishop (R-UT) plan to offer an amendment to repeal the onerous NPS gun ban.

First, a procedural vote, known as "Ordering the Previous
Question," will be voted on. A "no" vote is the pro-gun position on that motion.

If we are successful on that vote, there will be a vote on an amendment to repeal the NPS gun ban. Urge your representative to vote IN FAVOR of the Hastings-Bishop amendment.

And tell them not to be fooled by language that was recently added to the bill to protect hunting and fishing on certain parts of federal land, as if the Founding Fathers pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to protect a recreational pastime.

Please urge you representative to support the Hastings-Bishop amendment, protecting your right to carry a firearm for self-defense, hunting or any other lawful purpose.

NPS bureaucrats and federal judges should not be empowered to negate self-defense on YOUR land.

On Wednesday morning, the Omnibus Public Land Act (H.R. 146) will come to the floor.

This bill, which has bounced between the House and Senate in recent weeks, has completely sidestepped the issue of my right to self-defense.

Several pro-gun representatives tried to amend the bill so that it offers real protection of Second Amendment rights on National Park Service and Fish & Wildlife Service lands, but those efforts were defeated.

Repeal of the NPS gun ban takes on added urgency after a federal appeals court issued an injunction last week to stop changes made by the Bush administration to allow concealed carry on NPS land from taking effect.

And please don't be fooled by language that was recently added to the bill to protect hunting and fishing on certain parts of federal land, as if the Founding Fathers pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to protect a recreational pastime.

First, there will be a vote on Ordering the Previous Question. I urge you to vote "NO" on that motion, in order to allow for
consideration of an amendment by Reps. Doc Hastings and Rob Bishop.

The Hastings-Bishop amendment to repeal the NPS gun ban protects my right to self-defense on OUR public lands, and I urge you to SUPPORT it.

Gun Owners of America will inform me of how you vote, and will rate the procedural vote and the vote on the amendment in its upcoming Congressional rating.

Sincerely,

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